Chapter 926: Evil God's Secret (Part 2)

"The Heretic God and the Creation Gods are both the primordial deities!? So, the Heretic God and the Creation Gods are actually on the same level?" Yun Che asked in surprise.

"That's right. The Four Devil Emperors are the primordial devils, and also the most powerful devils. The Three Creation Gods and the Heretic God are the primordial gods, and also the most powerful gods," the Golden Crow spirit said.

The Three Creation Gods each possessed different divine powers. The head of the Three Creation Gods, the Heaven Punishing God Emperor Mo E, not only wielded the strongest divine power but could also control the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword, making him the most powerful being among all gods. However, perhaps due to the immense power of the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword, which overtaxed his lifespan, he was the first among the Three Creation Gods to perish. His divine essence was depleted even before the great war between gods and devils fully erupted, but his end could still be considered a natural death.

The other two Creation Gods were Xi Ke, who wielded the Heaven Profound Pearl and possessed supreme divine power to interfere with time, and Li Suo, who controlled the Grandmist Seal of Life and Death and possessed endless life and life-giving divine power. She created the most star realms and life forms. The Heretic God, on the other hand, possessed extreme elemental power, allowing him to control elements almost in defiance of the laws of chaos. Later, he created the Heretic God Art, a technique that astonished all gods and made his divine power even more formidable. Eventually, a rumor spread throughout the God Realm that if the Heretic God unleashed his full power, he might even be able to defeat the Heaven Punishing God Emperor without the latter using the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword.

"..." Yun Che's mouth fell open again, and he groaned inwardly, *My heavens, the Heretic God was truly such an incredible being.*

Listening intently, Yun Che almost instinctively asked, "Since all three Creation Gods were primordial deities, why does the Heretic God not have the title of a Creation God?"

"No, the Heretic God was originally one of the Creation Gods. In the earliest era of gods, including the Heretic God, there were four Creation Gods in total. When the Heretic God was among the Creation Gods, he used his divine power to create many life forms and planets. The Blue Pole Star you are currently on was the first planet he created."

"Huh? Then why...?"

"This matter involves a more complex ancient secret." The Golden Crow spirit's voice became somewhat intricate. It fell silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating whether to tell Yun Che.

"As I mentioned earlier, a rumor circulated in the God Realm that the Heretic God could defeat the Heaven Punishing God Emperor. And the emergence of this rumor was certainly not without reason. This is because the Heaven Punishing God Emperor and the Heretic God did indeed have an encounter... After that, the Heretic God changed his divine title to 'Heretic God' and was no longer counted among the Creation Gods. From then on, the Four Creation Gods became the Three Creation Gods... At the same time, the Four Devil Emperors of the Devil Race also became the Three Devil Emperors."

"???" Yun Che listened, utterly bewildered. "What is all this? Why did the Heretic God fight the Heaven Punishing God Emperor? And what does the Heretic God's status as a Creation God have to do with the number of Devil Emperors in the Devil Race?"

"This matter involves a divine art... a divine art from the Ancestral God."

The Golden Crow spirit's tone changed, and its speaking speed almost uncontrollably slowed down. Even when it spoke of the Heaven Punishing God Emperor, the head of all gods, its tone remained calm, but upon mentioning this "divine art," its voice conveyed the awe a mortal would feel for a deity.

"The Ancestral God's... divine art?" Yun Che muttered, stunned.

"Legend has it that it was a powerful profound art created by the Ancestral God over tens of millions of years, so potent that no ordinary being could comprehend it. Before the Ancestral God dissipated, unwilling to let his tens of millions of years of painstaking effort vanish with him, and fearing that this profound art was too powerful, capable of spawning forces that could disrupt the balance of chaos, he shattered it into three parts and scattered them to different corners of chaos."

"This shattered divine art did not exist as a soul imprint but in the simplest and most direct textual form. However, the characters inscribed within the divine art were created by the Ancestral God himself—a script later called 'Primordial Divine Script.' In this world, only the Four Devil Emperors and Four Creation Gods, who inherited fragments of the Ancestral God's memories, were capable of deciphering this script. Naturally, they were also the first to know of this Ancestral God Art's existence."

"Yun Che, do you know why the God Race and the Devil Race were so irreconcilable?" the Golden Crow spirit suddenly asked.

Yun Che thought for a moment and said, "I heard my master say that the great war that led to the gods' and devils' demise was ignited by the struggle for the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword. Could their initial animosity have been due to the 'Ancestral God Art' you just mentioned?"

The Golden Crow spirit said, "The God Race and the Devil Race were born simultaneously and coexisted in the north and south poles of chaos. Although their powers differed and their natures varied, and while they disliked each other and had little interaction, they did not infringe upon each other. At least, they were certainly not hostile towards one another. That is, until the Devil Race and the God Race each found a fragment of the 'Ancestral God Art.'"

"Speaking of which... what was the name of that 'Ancestral God Art'?" Yun Che couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.

"I do not know, perhaps even the Golden Crow God itself might not know," the Golden Crow spirit slowly replied. "This 'Ancestral God Art' undoubtedly held an extremely immense attraction even for the Devil Emperors and Creation Gods. To delve into the 'Ancestral God Art,' the Devil Emperor who had obtained one fragment proposed to the Creation God who possessed another fragment to combine the two and study its secrets together. Although it wouldn't be complete, integrating two of the three fragments might be enough to glean some insights, and the Creation God readily agreed."

"And the Creation God who obtained that fragment of the 'Ancestral God Art' was none other than the Heaven Punishing God Emperor."

"Subsequently, that Devil Emperor traveled to the Southern Chaos to seek out the Heaven Punishing God Emperor to jointly study the divine art. The meeting place was arranged to be at the edge of chaos, a place undisturbed by any living being. However, as it involved crossing chaos and entering the territory of the God Race, that Devil Emperor did not go alone. He not only brought the divine art but also brought nine hundred devil gods from his clan as protectors... But unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the Heaven Punishing God Emperor."

"!!" Yun Che was startled. "Could it be... the Heaven Punishing God Emperor intended to snatch the divine art from that Devil Emperor's hands?"

"Precisely."

Yun Che: "..."

"After that Devil Emperor revealed his divine art fragment, the Heaven Punishing God Emperor did not simultaneously produce his own acquired divine art fragment. Instead, he summoned the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword. During the fierce battle, he used the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword to blast open the Wall of Chaos, banishing that Devil Emperor and all the devil gods he had brought with him outside of chaos."

Yun Che was dumbfounded. "The Heaven Punishing God Emperor, as the emperor of all gods, was actually... such a contemptible person."

"No," the Golden Crow spirit countered, "the Heaven Punishing God Emperor was by no means a contemptible person. On the contrary, he was excessively resentful of evil. From the moment of his birth, devils, who utilized negative profound energy, were, to him, inherently sinful beings. He would absolutely not permit a divine art from the Ancestral God to fall into the hands of a devil."

"This..." Yun Che was speechless. Even if his heart truly was merely overly resentful of evil, his actions were indeed utterly despicable, a clear and undeniable betrayal.

"What is the Wall of Chaos? What does it mean to be banished outside of chaos? Does chaos even have an edge?"

"Vast as chaos may be, it ultimately has boundaries. And to break open the Wall of Chaos is exceedingly difficult, almost impossible even for the power of a true god. Beyond chaos, it is rumored to be a realm of eternal nothingness. Once one falls outside of chaos, they are banished to a world of eternal void, never to return."

"This incident ignited the wrath of all devils, and it also greatly infuriated the Heretic God upon learning of it. It was for this reason that the Heretic God and the Heaven Punishing God Emperor engaged in a fierce battle. The outcome of that conflict is known to no one, and it was after that, that the Heretic God declared himself no longer a Creation God, but instead took the name Heretic God."

"Likewise, from that point onward, the gods and devils, who had previously maintained minimal interaction and non-interference, became completely hostile towards each other, viewing each other as mortal enemies. The gods also developed an increasingly extreme aversion to the dark profound energy used by devils. As for the Heretic God, his temperament changed drastically after that. He became reclusive and solitary, no longer concerning himself with the affairs of the God Realm, and never interfering in the conflict between gods and devils. Later, it became exceedingly rare for any deity to even witness his presence."

"So, did that 'divine art fragment' from the Devil Emperor's hands then fall into the Heaven Punishing God Emperor's possession?" Yun Che asked.

"No," the Golden Crow spirit unexpectedly denied. "It seems not. The Heaven Punishing God Emperor always only possessed one fragment. There are rumors that the divine art fragment held by that Devil Emperor was banished with them outside of chaos, disappearing forever. There are also rumors that it fell into the Heretic God's hands—the rumor of the Heretic God defeating the Heaven Punishing God Emperor also stemmed from this."

"And until the demise of both gods and devils, the mysterious 'Ancestral God Art' from the Ancestral God was never fully assembled. It then completely dispersed throughout chaos with the end of the god and devil era. This was also fate's will; an item of the Ancestral God, even true gods were not qualified to pry into it. Yet, it regrettably became the true root of animosity between the two races and the reason a Creation God transformed into the Heretic God."

"Regarding the Heretic God's past, this is all I know. As for why he could wield dark profound energy... that has likely become an eternal secret, perhaps known only to the departed Heretic God himself."

"..." Yun Che propped his chin in his hand, feeling as though his consciousness was drifting among the clouds. After all, the information he received from the Golden Crow spirit today had no connection whatsoever to his world, his experiences, or his previous knowledge. It felt as if he had just heard an ethereal myth.

But at least he now understood the Heretic God's status in the era of gods.

As for what he most wanted to know—why the Heretic God could wield dark profound energy—there was still no clear answer.

As for the other information, such as the Ancestral God, the Ancestral God Art, and the Wall of Chaos, he could only truly treat it as mere mythology.

"Since the Heretic God completely concealed his possession of dark profound energy throughout his era, it seems I, too, must keep dark profound energy a secret known only to myself," Yun Che slowly said.

The Heretic God concealed his dark profound energy probably because he didn't want to be regarded as a devil. Yun Che certainly didn't want that either.

"..." The Golden Crow spirit did not respond.

"Golden Crow spirit, besides what you've told me about the Heretic God, I have another question I'd like to ask," Yun Che looked up and said. "Do you know how to get to the God Realm?"

"Once your profound energy steps into the Divine Way, you will naturally be able to perceive the existence of higher planar spaces. Once your divine power of the Divine Way is stable and you possess the ability to survive in chaos for an extended period, you may leave the Blue Pole Star, and one day you will be able to find the God Realm."

After the Golden Crow spirit finished speaking, it suddenly asked, "Why do you wish to go to the God Realm? Is it to pursue a higher level of power?"

Yun Che shook his head, then let out a slight sigh. "I don't know if I should go."

"Hmph, so that's it." Yun Che's words immediately made the Golden Crow spirit understand something. "Your master must have told you, upon her departure, that you must absolutely not go to the God Realm to find her. Yet, you very much wish to see her again."

Yun Che nodded slightly, then nodded heavily again.

"Hahahaha," the Golden Crow spirit burst into laughter. "If I were the Phoenix spirit, I would vehemently dissuade you from going to the God Realm. But, I, on the other hand, am going to tell you something."

"?" Yun Che looked up in surprise.

"If you still wish to see your master again, then reach the God Realm within five years! Otherwise, you will never see her again in this life!"